Let us love one another

"Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love". How to understand this statement of St. John the Apostle incredibly simple and at the same time incredibly filled with dangerous consequences.

It is a call not to hesitate to love God, even though this may sometimes seem like pride and presumptuous, but it is not a matter of philosophizing, but of accepting life as it is, even if it is not at first glance a connection with God's love.

It begins simply with an effort to "love one another", believing that both love and all good in general come from God and is not only a sign of life, but also its carrier. In addition, it is also believed that both love and life have the same Source, which is the person of Jesus Christ – the Son of God.

If we want to understand love better, we must know that we did not love God first, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins (cf. 1 Jn 4:10). The point is that He has the initiative of love and not only loved us first but also committed Himself to it with all His heart.

Knowing this frees us from the fear that we are being prideful in wanting to love God, or that this is highly inappropriate because of our sinfulness. God's initiative frees our love from such thoughts and fears, purifies our hearts, and lifts us to the Divine level through the gift of new life that is the Holy Spirit.

In this way, a new perspective of life opens up before us, when love ceases to be an obligation to pay God back for the gift received from Him and becomes a free response of man to the call of God's Love.

By engaging in this relationship, man enables love to shape his personality in a practical way, thus sharing in the creative, wisdom, power and beauty of God.

Then the chance to fulfill this greatest longing, which contains all human desires, becomes real, namely, the chance of personal communion with God, in the mystery of communion of life with Jesus the Son of God ("through Christ, with Christ and in Christ"), in the unity of the Spirit, to the glory of God, the Father Almighty.

That is why today we look in the world for those who have this generosity and authenticity of a personal relationship with God, which strengthens and finds a place in the community of the Church. What is more, this agape makes it possible to show good to those who – at least according to human logic – do not deserve good at all (that is, after a thorough examination of conscience of most of us). And all this is possible thanks to the mystery of the incarnation of the only Son of God and the absolutely undeserved access to the Life that has been revealed and continues to be revealed.

In the face of such love, I want to say an AMEN with great hope today, which will once again open our eyes to the gift of new life and give us another chance to receive the love of the One who "did not wait for us to love him first, but was the first to offer us his love" (1 Jn 4:10).

Until next time
fr. george